Describe the situation here:
At the end of the day the teacher realizes that there is a missing balance from the room
Understanding the Situation
a. What might be some underlying causes of the situation that you need to think about?
Student dislikes class/teacher
Student needs money and may sell it
Student needs/wants to impress friends
Student did it on a dare
b. Are there resources within your school that might be of help? If so who and what questions should you ask them?
The students...Who stole the balance?
The administration...How do we handle punishment and determine the thief? (advisory role)
Other teachers
c. Are there other resources that might be helpful?
Outside of the school, not many
A Solution
As a teacher, you will often try to address problems by preventing them. That said, things happen in classrooms that cannot be anticipated beforehand and you will have to make decisions about how to address the situation.
a. Decide whether your action is proactive (action aimed at preventing problem) or reactive (action occurs after situation develops).
Reactive because there was nothing done to prevent from before hand, so we have to be reactive. This will cause us to create a proactive solution for the next time.
b. Decide what grade level you will "solve" this problem for.
10
c. Describe what you'll do.
Proactively:
Made sure the scale is in a secure place from the beginning
If used, make sure everything is returned to it's place when class is over
Reactively:
Interrogate students
Keep a good eye, be attentive
Send messages home to parents
d. Describe how you anticipate your action(s) will affect the situation.
The proactive is definitely the better selection because it is a preventative measure and will be more effective. One of the reactive measures would be solving the problem temporarily, for the current moment in time. It may not prevent an occurrence like this from happening again.
Solution Consequences
Before you act to address a classroom situation, you have to anticipate possible consequences of your actions. Spell out some of these effects here:
a. How will you action be perceived by your students?
Proactively, they shouldn't even realize that anything is going on. Reactively, they may view it as a negative enforcer and could provoke them to do it again.
b. How will your action affect the learning climate in your classroom?
Potentially, It will have the least effect possible. A reactive solution will have to effect the class in someway. Hopefully, it will effect it positively and it will deter students wanting to steal something in the future.
c. What might your students learn from your action? (Be sure to note both positive and negative lessons.)
Positively, they will learn that they shouldn't be trying to steal stuff from the classroom. Negatively, It is just going to waste time and kids will attempt to steal stuff again once they learn how easy it is to get away with it.
d. How will your students' parents react to their child's account of your action? (Remember that they will put their own "spin" on what you do.)
I would hope that I was working with a reasonable parent that would be open to suggestions and trust that I would be honest with them. Since most parents are not going to be like that, I would expect that a parent is going to defend their child to the death. I would go into a conversation with the parent making sure that I had reasonable proof of their child's action. (e.g. multiple students confessed the truth)
e. How will your administrator(s) react to your action?
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BOTTOM LINE: I SHOULD...
Be more responsible and make sure the balance is somewhere that the students can't get to it.
The Situation
Describe the situation here:At the end of the day the teacher realizes that there is a missing balance from the room
Understanding the Situation
a. What might be some underlying causes of the situation that you need to think about?
Student dislikes class/teacher
Student needs money and may sell it
Student needs/wants to impress friends
Student did it on a dare
b. Are there resources within your school that might be of help? If so who and what questions should you ask them?
The students...Who stole the balance?
The administration...How do we handle punishment and determine the thief? (advisory role)
Other teachers
c. Are there other resources that might be helpful?
Outside of the school, not many
A Solution
As a teacher, you will often try to address problems by preventing them. That said, things happen in classrooms that cannot be anticipated beforehand and you will have to make decisions about how to address the situation.a. Decide whether your action is proactive (action aimed at preventing problem) or reactive (action occurs after situation develops).
Reactive because there was nothing done to prevent from before hand, so we have to be reactive. This will cause us to create a proactive solution for the next time.
b. Decide what grade level you will "solve" this problem for.
10
c. Describe what you'll do.
Proactively:
Made sure the scale is in a secure place from the beginning
If used, make sure everything is returned to it's place when class is over
Reactively:
Interrogate students
Keep a good eye, be attentive
Send messages home to parents
d. Describe how you anticipate your action(s) will affect the situation.
The proactive is definitely the better selection because it is a preventative measure and will be more effective. One of the reactive measures would be solving the problem temporarily, for the current moment in time. It may not prevent an occurrence like this from happening again.
Solution Consequences
Before you act to address a classroom situation, you have to anticipate possible consequences of your actions. Spell out some of these effects here:a. How will you action be perceived by your students?
Proactively, they shouldn't even realize that anything is going on. Reactively, they may view it as a negative enforcer and could provoke them to do it again.
b. How will your action affect the learning climate in your classroom?
Potentially, It will have the least effect possible. A reactive solution will have to effect the class in someway. Hopefully, it will effect it positively and it will deter students wanting to steal something in the future.
c. What might your students learn from your action? (Be sure to note both positive and negative lessons.)
Positively, they will learn that they shouldn't be trying to steal stuff from the classroom. Negatively, It is just going to waste time and kids will attempt to steal stuff again once they learn how easy it is to get away with it.
d. How will your students' parents react to their child's account of your action? (Remember that they will put their own "spin" on what you do.)
I would hope that I was working with a reasonable parent that would be open to suggestions and trust that I would be honest with them. Since most parents are not going to be like that, I would expect that a parent is going to defend their child to the death. I would go into a conversation with the parent making sure that I had reasonable proof of their child's action. (e.g. multiple students confessed the truth)
e. How will your administrator(s) react to your action?
----
BOTTOM LINE: I SHOULD...
Be more responsible and make sure the balance is somewhere that the students can't get to it.